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Dynamic Quantitative Sensory Testing to Characterize Central Pain Processing
Published on: February 16, 2017
Cortical thickness and pain sensitivity in zen meditators
Joshua A Grant1, Jérôme Courtemanche, Emma G Duerden
1Département de physiologie, Université de Montréal Centre de recherche en science neurologiques, Montréal, QC, Canada. joshua.grant@umontreal.ca
Emotion (Washington, D.C.)
|February 10, 2010
Summary
Zen meditation practice is linked to reduced pain sensitivity. Long-term meditation may alter brain structure, specifically increasing cortical thickness in pain-processing regions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pain Research
- Psychology
Background:
- Zen meditation is associated with reduced sensitivity to both affective and sensory pain dimensions.
- Previous studies indicate gray matter differences in meditators and chronic pain patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if brain morphometry differences correlate with the lower pain sensitivity observed in Zen practitioners.
- To explore the relationship between meditation experience and brain structure in pain perception.
Main Methods:
- Structural MRI scans were acquired from 17 Zen meditators and 18 control participants.
- Pain sensitivity was assessed by measuring the temperature required to elicit moderate pain.
Main Results:
- Meditators exhibited significantly lower pain sensitivity compared to controls.
- Across all participants, reduced pain sensitivity correlated with thicker cortex in pain-related areas like the anterior cingulate cortex and insula.
- Meditators showed thicker cortex in the dorsal anterior cingulate and secondary somatosensory cortex.
Conclusions:
- Pain sensitivity is associated with cortical thickness in brain regions involved in pain processing.
- The reduced pain sensitivity in Zen practitioners may result from structural brain changes induced by long-term meditation practice.
